A Bouquet and a Boyfriend
by c1araoswa1d
Summary: Tumblr Whouffle Prompt: Clara informs the Doctor that she'd be a bit late for their usual Wednesday date 'cause she had to go on this trip with her students and she'll return home late, so he decides to surprise her by picking her up at the airport


The Doctor doesn't spent much time at airports. It isn't the bustling about or the chaotic nature or even the constant barrage of smells coming from the vendors, for all of those things, quite frankly, excite him because they remind him of some of his favorite planets… it's the anticipation. You're never at the airport for a visit or a look around. Never just stopping in to say hello, or to catch a glimpse at an airplane.

You're either going somewhere distant, or waiting for someone to return.

He pushed a hand through his hair for the third time in as many minutes, flipping his wrist over to check the time again on his watch and he released a sigh through pouted lips, gaining him an odd giggle from an infant on the shoulder of a woman nearby. Offering the child a wary smile, he continued pacing, excusing himself as he ran into yet another trolley and got called something he knows isn't pleasant.

"_But where are you off to? I could meet you there! Show them the sights, give them loads of knowledge they'd never ever ever get from a guide book – I could be your guide! Could guide your class. Wouldn't that be fantastic, Clara? I could guide your class. It'd be like when we took Angie and Artie to_…"

"_To where they were almost converted into Cyberman_?"

"_Well, that trip didn't quite turn out as planned, but you've got a manual. Proper teacher's manual with ground rules and the like – it'll run a lot smoother with that, won't it_."

"_Doctor, I'll be back Wednesday. You can come by around dinner_?"

He couldn't wait until dinner. Of course, he knew, he didn't have to wait until dinner. He could just pop into her flat just as she was turning on the stove, a box of fish fingers dropping onto a tray for them to share. But he was frustrated by a notion and he needed to test it, possibly in the most inappropriate way possible. So he'd shown up at the airport ten minutes before her flight landed and he'd trudged through the terminals trying to make sense of screens he hadn't seen in years and communicating with people who thought he was bonkers.

"_Just trying to pick up my companion – couldn't I get onto the tarmac_?" Apparently it was no longer allowed. Something about terrorism and when he flashed his psychic paper, they'd raised an eyebrow and asked him why the head of a wildlife sanctuary would need to get to the tarmac.

Dodgy paper… properly jumbled up mind more like.

"_So by the luggage then_?" He'd finally moped, working his way around the airport, randomly bumping into strangers and eyeing odd treats, wondering if she'd be hungry.

The Doctor paced beside the conveyor belt, one hand strumming again through his hair and when he heard her shout out in surprise, he turned and nearly knocked her in the face with the bouquet of flowers he held in his other hand. He winced, thinking she'd be upset, but she laughed, asking quickly, "Are these for me?"

Glancing down at her, his brow crumpled together in a sort of nervous pain, he nodded and held them out, waiting until she took them to glance around at the students now filing towards their luggage and their parents. He smiled, looking around – their parents. "I thought I'd surprise you," he told Clara as she examined the flowers. "Are you surprised?"

She laughed up at him, "Pleasantly."

"Really?" He questioned.

Narrowing her eyes at him, she sidestepped him and began searching for her suitcase while she idly chatted with students standing nearby. He came to stand beside her and she pointed, "You can lug that out to the…" then she trailed and looked up at him with an unexpected smile, "Tardis, please tell me you've brought the Tardis."

Grinning, he nodded, "Of course I brought the Tardis."

Rolling her shoulders, Clara admitted, "I'm a bit exhausted; would be lovely to not have to take the tube home after all of the excitement."

"Good trip then?" He asked quietly, voice rising slightly as he looked around at the teenagers who were looking him over and whispering amongst each other. He smiled politely at them.

Clara nodded as he pulled her case onto the ground, extending the handle so they could wheel it away and she glanced up at him, looking around, before asking, "You came to the airport to pick me up. Explain."

Releasing a squeak of a laugh, he gripped the handle and twisted slightly before bending into her, "You didn't want me to pick you up at the airport."

He waited as Clara watched him, then looked to a group of girls who giggled as they turned away from them. "They're going to think you're my boyfriend."

"Are they?" He asked. Then he lowered his chin slightly, "Is that why you wanted to meet later?"

Stepping into him, Clara tugged at his waist coast, bringing his face level with hers, "I wanted to meet later so that I could get my luggage sorted before you arrived, maybe get a nap in because I know you'll immediately want to head out to some planet, and a bite to eat because I'm starved."

"Oh," he muttered.

"Oh?" Clara repeated.

He looked sheepishly at the children around them, "Nothing to do with not wanting me around the students?"

She tilted her head, "You're really that thick." She watched him frown. "Doctor, while it's probably not advisable that you chaperone this _particular_ lot, it's got more to do with the rules I have to work under – nothing to do with… you thought I didn't want my students to know about you."

"Well, you did come up with excuses, none having to do with _the rules_," he hissed.

Clara opened her mouth to reply, but a young girl with jet black hair and a freckled face came up beside her and asked quietly, "Is this the Doctor?"

Gesturing at him, Clara straightened and she called out, "Yes, this is the Doctor; and yes _you still have homework_!"

There was a collective groan, but when she looked back at the Doctor, he was smiling smugly and she punched his arm lightly as he chuckled. Clara nodded her head and began to walk, feeling her cheeks going pink as he continued to grin at her while she looked over the assortment of odd flowers held tightly in her hands. She turned back and he asked, proudly, "So they know me?"

"Yes," she laughed, "I've told them about you."

He moved swiftly to block her forward movement and now she smiled sheepishly up at him as he released her bag and extended his arms slightly, "Then it's not too forward…"

Shaking her head, she laughed and gave a small hop to hug him, telling him calmly, "Now they're really going to think you're my boyfriend."

"Let them," he laughed. "We'll be in Space Florida on a beach while they're writing papers and worrying over their grades."

Watching her drop away with an embarrassed smile, he offered a hand that she easily took and they began making their way towards the parking garage. The Doctor glanced down as she smiled up at him – by Monday the school would be passing rumors of Miss Oswald and her strange boyfriend – and he nodded to himself because for the first time in a very long time, he wasn't so adverse to the idea.


End file.
